The Gaydar

Many people claim to have what is known as the "gaydar," a supposedly innate capacity to determine someone's sexual orientation. But how true is this talent? On the surface, it might sound like just another technique to disguise existing assumptions about anyone not falling on the ‘straight’ spectrum, which may well frequently be the case. But science says that most of us do have this talent if we switch to our subconscious brain and don't actively think about it.

According to studies, it just takes one-tenth of a second to determine someone's sexual orientation by looking at their image. It still holds true even after the entire image has been cut out, save for the face. This implies that it has more to do with how the human brain ordinarily reacts to faces and less to do with stereotypical elements like dress or mannerisms. According to research, some people are better - or worse - at it than others, even though everyone has it to some level. For instance, those with homophobic beliefs don't fare well on these tests.